


Coppertail 2.0

by emocezi



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M, various other characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 11:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10853292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emocezi/pseuds/emocezi
Summary: There are few rules for mers that live on the warm shallow waters of the reefs twenty five miles off the small island of Coral-Salt.  And the only one enforced is swimming out into open ocean.  The mers who live on and near the reef understand that the rules are enforced for their own safety.  But even understanding those rules doesn't stop them from being broken, especially by young mers who feel the urge to prove themselves brave among their peers.





	Coppertail 2.0

**Author's Note:**

> Hey friends! I have a multichaptered fic of the same name on tumblr, I'm sure a number of you have read it. But I've felt for quite a long time that I haven't given it as much effort as I could have and I wanted to attempt a rewrite of it. So here's that attempt!! I hope you enjoy.

There are few rules for mers that live on the warm shallow waters of the reefs twenty five miles off the small island of Coral-Salt. And the only one enforced is swimming out into open ocean. The mers who live on and near the reef understand that the rules are enforced for their own safety. But even understanding those rules doesn't stop them from being broken, especially by young mers who feel the urge to prove themselves brave among their peers.

"Come on, paper fins." Bruck sneers it, beautiful white hair pulled back in a braid, iridescent shells on fishing line threaded through his hair. "Everyone goes out to the drop off when they turn thirteen." 

"But-But we're not supposed to." Kenobi stammers out, trapped up against an enormous wall of coral by Bruck and the rest of the fry who are turning thirteen tomorrow. Bruck rolls his eyes and flicks his tail, moving into Kenobi's space a few inches more. 

"If you always listen to the Elders you're never going to get anywhere in life." Bruck says, reaching out to pinch one of the paper thin fins Kenobi is still growing into, making Kenobi yelp and shrink back against the coral further. "Show up at the drop off tomorrow." Bruck says. "Or you'll regret it."

XxX XxX

"Is the drop off dangerous?" Kenobi asks Bant later. She's older than he is and Kenobi goes to her for things he can't talk to the elders about. He hasn't told her yet about Bruck pinching his fins, he hasn't told anyone about it. No one believed him when he told them Bruck had been stealing food when he'd been a small fry. And now he's smaller then the others and the elders simply sigh and call him the runt of the litter. They didn't believe him about that, why should they believe him about this?

"The drop off?" Bant turns from where she's threading shells onto fishing line and blinks enormous eyes at Kenobi. She's from a neighbouring tribe who came to visit and trade with the Coral-Salt tribe and stayed when she found her one in the form of a mer named Garen. "It's not dangerous if you mind your caudel fin. Why?"

"I was just wondering." Kenobi says and passes her another shell that he's rubbed clean with sand, keeping his eyes away from hers so he won't feel compelled to tell her the truth. He's a bad liar. Everyone knows it. Bant frowns at him, but lets it go. Kenobi is a good fry, doesn't get into trouble like the other young ones. 

He'll be thirteen tomorrow and leaving the nursery behind, will be chosen by one of the elders to learn a specialized skill that he'll use to help the rest of the tribe when he reaches adulthood. Bant has already made up her mind to take Kenobi under her wing. He'll make a wonderful healer, she can feel it in her gills.

XxX XxX

Kenobi wakes before the rest of the tribe and sneaks out of the nursery, past elder Jocasta who's curled up on the rock that overlooks the white sand of the nursery and through the reef until the coral starts to thin out and eventually ends.

 

He sees Bruck, standing out against the darkness of the drop off, as bright as the full moon and Kenobi takes a moment to catch his breath before he swims up to where Bruck is waiting with the rest of the fry. "I didn't think you'd show." Bruck says, looking at Kenobi as if he's risen a few notches in Bruck's estimation of him.

"I talked to Bant and she said the drop off wasn't dangerous." Kenobi admits, looking at Bruck for a moment and then out at the vast expanse of open ocean. His heart starts to pound and he swallows, feeling a shiver of ice water swirl over his skin. 

"It's not." Bruck says, though for a moment he looks unsure and then straigtens up. "Today we leave the nursery. Today we are on the path to becoming adults in the tribe. Today we swim into open water and prove our bravery."

"No one said we had to swim out into open water." Shett says and the rest of the fry echo him, looking up at Bruck who's been their unofficial leader since they'd clawed themselves free from their eggs.

"Not far." Bruck says, as if he's offering them a deal. "Count till five and then turn around and swim back. I'll go first." He holds his head up and looks over the assembled fry as if he's the king of the sea. A flick of his fins takes him out into open water and even though his young heart pounds, he doesn't show it, needing to prove to the others that he's braver than them, better than them. He counts to five, turns, and swims back to the group. 

One by one, the fry swim out and back, proving themselves as adults in their own eyes, until it's only Kenobi left.

They all know he's not a strong swimmer, but it doesn't stop them from expecting him to do just as they did. Expecting him to be just as good at swimming as they are, and like Bruck, they want no excuses from him about what he can and can't do.

Kenobi takes a deep breath and starts to swim. If he does this he'll be one of them. He'll finally be accepted and Bruck won't pick on him like he used to. He'll be an adult just like the rest of the fry. 

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Kenobi tries to turn, but his find crumple under force of the current and he manages to twist his body with his arms, facing the drop off. "I can't swim back." He cries out, terror in his voice as he's swept away. He watches his age-mates, Bruck included, swim out into open water to come to him, and for a long moment, he has hope that they'll get to him, that they'll grab him and drag him back to the reef where they'll all be yelled at by the elders and punished and they'll be safe.

Except the current has him, and the current is selfish and greedy and doesn't want to give up it's new toy, and it drags Kenobi away, until he's completely alone, out in the open ocean with useless fins and a shimmering copper tail that's nothing but a target to things with sharp teeth that like to eat soft things like him.

XxX XxX

It's rare for Rex to get time for himself, and he's not about to waste this free morning sleeping in when he can escape his duties as crown prince. He grabs his spear and escapes the palace grounds before anyone can stop him with orders from his father. 

A powerful flick of his tail sends him flying through the water, until the palace is barely visible behind him, and then he swims upwards, towards the surface, where the fish swarm in flashing balls of food that's yet to be eaten.

The spear fits well in his hand, and he uses it ruthlessly, effortlessly, spearing three fish in a row and threading fishing line through their gills when the sound of weeping reaches his ears. At first he thinks it's a human, but no human would be this far out, and he turns in the direction of the sound, carried to him by the current.

Copper flashes far off in the distance and Rex watches it for a moment, trying to figure out what it is when the long, slim shape of the thing is finally revealed. A mer. Like him. Except so different it's practically a seperate species. Rex watches for a few more minutes and then starts towards the weeping mer.

Light skin, a brightly coloured, plump tail, and near useless fins. A reef born mer, not suited to the open ocean, and yet here it is. Rex cocks his head to the side and watches as the mer sniffs loudly and then tries to swim up current, entire body struggling until he's worn himself out and goes limp, letting the current have him and weeping again.

Poor lost thing. He's lucky Rex found him instead of something else. Rex swims up behind the reef soft mer and catches him around the waist, completly unprepared for what could laughably be called violence, the young mer screaming and lashing out at him with a tail as soft as sea weed, and arms as thin as crab legs. 

"Stop! Stop. Relax, pup." Rex croons it and the mer goes still, trembling lightly in his grip. Rex flicks his tail to keep them afloat and takes a proper look at the pup. He's young. Only a few years younger than Rex, but still far too young to be out in the ocean alone. "Where are you from?"

"Coral-Salt Reef." The pup says and then burrows into Rex's side as if he's some reef soft mer himself. "Can you take me home?"

"You're a long way from Coral-Salt, pup." Rex murmurs softly and runs a hand over soft, copper hair the same shade as the mers tail. "I'll speak to my father and arrange an escort."

"I just want to go home." The mer wails it and Rex mentally balances his spear against the handful of crying mer in his arms. The crying mer wins and he drops the spear, drawing the young mer against him fully and trying to calm him. 

"Hush now. You'll be alright, pup. You're in the sea kings realm. You're safe here. I swear it. Now what's your name?"

"It's Kenobi." The pup says and sniffles, blinking up at Rex with the most luminous green eyes Rex has ever seen. "Kenobi of Coral-Salt."

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly have no idea where this is going. So I'm along for the ride with all of you. I hope you enjoyed, and please feel free to come squeal at me either in the comment section or my tumblr blog the-last-hair-bender. 
> 
> :)


End file.
